Another Court Says Plain Meaning Matters: Calls Are Not Texts
Two courts. One message. Post-McLaughlin, some judges are making it clear: text messages are not “telephone calls” under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
In Davis v. CVS Pharmacy, Inc., No. 4:24-cv-477-AW-MAF, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 167366 (N.D. Fla. Aug. 26, 2025), the plaintiff claimed CVS Pharmacy sent him two unsolicited texts while his number was on the National Do Not Call Registry. But he didn’t allege a single call. CVS cut straight to the point:
“No normal person refers to a text message, or thinks of a text message, as a ‘call.’ No ordinary user of the English language would write the sentence ‘John called Sue’ intending to mean ‘John sent a text message to Sue,’ nor would any ordinary reader interpret the sentence in that manner.”
Chief Judge Winsor agreed:
“Certainly, no ordinary person would think of a text message as a ‘telephone call.’ This conclusion—supported by the ordinary public meaning at the time of the provision’s enactment—is enough to end this case.”
The court granted CVS’s motion to dismiss. Because the plaintiff alleged only texts, the claim failed on its face. That meant Judge Winsor didn’t even need to address CVS’s additional argument that a cell phone user is not a “residential telephone subscriber.”
The court also brushed aside policy arguments and the FCC’s 2003 order. Citing McLaughlin Chiropractic Assocs., Inc. v. McKesson Corp., 606 U.S. 146 (2025), Judge Winsor emphasized that courts owe “appropriate respect” but not “deference” to agency interpretations and respect cannot override clear statutory text.
I said back in early July jurisdictional chaos was coming. Now it’s here. If you’re defending TCPA text claims, this is an argument to press at the motion to dismiss stage.
We now have multiple courts post-McLaughlin holding that texts do not qualify as calls under the Do Not Call section, 47 U.S.C. § 227(c), of the TCPA. That is a powerful defense, and it should be raised immediately when facing a complaint.